The LSU Tigers came into the season with hopes of making the College Football Playoff as Brian Kelly entered his 4th season in Baton Rouge. Between the loaded class of transfers like Mansoor Delane and AJ Haulcy coming in paired with players like Harold Perkins Jr and Garrett Nussmeier returning, it was easy to buy into this team winning big.
Instead, LSU never lived up to the hype, struggling against bad Florida and South Carolina teams before dropping games against Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M in a 4 game span leading to the firing of Brian Kelly.
Garrett Nussmeier reveals just how bad his injury was in 2025
One of the biggest reasons that LSU struggled in 2025 was the fact that Garrett Nussmeier wasn't nearly the same player last season. Nussmeier finished the year with just 1,927 yards and 12 touchdowns with 5 interceptions a year after passing for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns.
All season long, LSU fans knew that Garrett Nussmeier was clearly injured to the point where it would've made more sense to allow him to recover. Rather than allowing Nussmeier to rest in games against Louisiana Tech and Southeastern Louisiana, Nussmeier continued to play.
At the NFL Combine on Friday, Garrett Nussmeier revealed just how severe his injury was throughout the season.
LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier said his injury occurred Day 2 of fall camp:
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) February 27, 2026
“How much did it affect me? I think it was pretty evident.
“I really wasn’t able to throw the football. I had a stabbing pain in my ab every time I went to go throw the football.” pic.twitter.com/i6cLL9irMn
When Garrett Nussmeier revealed how early he was dealing with the injury, LSU fans were instantly outraged as Brian Kelly knew about the injury during the offseason, but made it seem like no big deal.
Brian Kelly updating the injury status of #LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier: pic.twitter.com/enZ1SFVVjh
— Cory Diaz (@ByCoryDiaz) August 8, 2025
There's going to be a ton of questions about how the injury was handled as it would seem that he could've waited to heal up in Fall camp rather than continuing to play through the pain. In Kelly's defense, there's also a chance that Nussmeier undersold how injured he was to the staff as he wanted to keep playing.
Garrett Nussmeier will now look to start rebuilding his draft stock at the NFL Combine after a solid showing at the Senior Bowl. Coming into the season, Nussmeier was seen as a potential 1st Round Pick, but he's now fighting to hear his name called on Day 2 of the draft.